Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal with the United States and could do so later today, a Ukrainian government source told Reuters. “I think maybe late tonight Kiev time the deal could be signed,” the source said. It is noted that the same information is also reported by Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The agreement, which provides for the creation of a joint fund to manage Ukraine's investment projects, has been finalized and could be signed as early as Wednesday, a Bloomberg source said. Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko is on her way to Washington for the signing, the same source said.
It is recalled that US President Donald Trump is seeking to reach an agreement to exploit Ukraine's mineral wealth, especially valuable rare earths, as compensation for the military and economic aid provided to Kiev by his predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden, since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Negotiations on the deal, which would give the United States preferential access to new investment projects to develop Ukraine’s natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil and gas, have been underway since February. The Ukrainian cabinet is ready to approve the deal, which must be ratified by the country’s parliament on Wednesday, a source told Bloomberg.
Under the deal, the U.S. and Ukraine will seek to create the conditions for “increasing investment in mining, energy and related technology in Ukraine,” according to a draft of the agreement seen by Bloomberg. Washington also acknowledges Kiev’s intentions to avoid any conflict between the deal and its plans to join the European Union, which remains a “red line” for Ukraine in the talks.
In another significant development, the United States agreed that only future military aid it may provide to Ukraine after the deal is signed will count toward its contribution to the fund, according to the draft agreement. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday that Washington had dropped its insistence that the tens of billions of dollars in aid provided since the start of the Russian invasion be included in the deal.
The signing could come as Donald Trump grows increasingly frustrated with delays in reaching a ceasefire in the war, now in its fourth year. He has questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to make progress on a peace plan that Trump has sought to deliver within the first 100 days of his new administration. Trump is “confident” that a deal on critical minerals with Ukraine will be signed, the White House said on Tuesday.
The agreement “strengthens the strategic partnership between the parties for the long-term reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, in response to the large-scale destruction caused by the Russian invasion,” according to the draft.
Two other agreements that will determine how the joint fund will operate have not yet been finalized, a Bloomberg source said.
American and Ukrainian officials signed a memorandum of understanding earlier in April and continued to work out the technical details of the agreement, which would give the United States first claim on profits transferred to a special reconstruction investment fund controlled by Washington.
A previous attempt to reach an agreement failed earlier this year when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clashed with Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office. Zelensky met privately with the US president at the Vatican on Saturday before Pope Francis' funeral.
Meanwhile, Russia has stepped up its attacks across the Ukrainian front and in several cities overnight as the Kremlin takes a maximalist line in U.S.-brokered peace talks. While Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, tried to convince Putin that Russia should agree to a ceasefire that would halt fighting along the current front lines, the Russian leader insisted that Moscow must take full control of four regions of Ukraine that it claims but does not fully hold, according to Bloomberg.
White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt reiterated Tuesday that Trump has been frustrated by the difficulty in convincing both Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace deal, but that he "remains optimistic that we can get it done."
Source: skai.gr
